Apple Pie French Toast Casserole
There are culinary records that indicate people have been eating some version of what is now called French toast since the 3rd century AD. It's helped define what is comfort food across the millennia. And in this instance, it's redefining two kinds of comfort food.
Remember to use stale or day-old bread for this dish. Older bread loses some of its own moisture, so it absorbs the flavored milk more completely and prevents the toast from becoming too soggy. Our recipe calls for dried cranberries, but of course raisins or even dried blueberries could be substituted. If planning to use this for a party or brunch, you can make this dish the night before and wait to bake it until right before you are ready to eat; this is noted in the instructions.
- 3 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice, divided
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 6 eggs, beaten
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grease a 9x13inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix together light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice.
- Add melted butter, apples, and cranberries and mix well.
- Pour mixture into baking dish, and spread evenly. Layer bread slices on top.
- Whisk eggs, milk, remaining 2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice, and vanilla extract together. Pour over top the bread slices, making sure all the bread has been soaked*.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until crisped on top. Let rest for 5 minutes, and serve!
*If you are cooking ahead of time, you can cover the prepared bread at this point and place everything in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from fridge and give it 30 minutes to warm up, then bake as instructed and enjoy.
